Chapter 1213: Star Dao True Understanding, Demon Market Platform

Chapter One

The Three-Eyed King felt the solidified Great Dao of Destruction on the stone platform beneath him, cleared his mind, and began to comprehend it. Chen Mobai had no way to interfere with this.

The rules of the Purple Thunder Palace were clear. It was obvious that the Three-Eyed Tribe had entered here many times and understood the rules well. However, this also gave Chen Mobai an opportunity to do his own things.

With a thought, the Void Illusion was cast.

Above the planet occupied by the Three-Eyed Tribe, a faint silver stream of light appeared, instantly transforming into Chen Mobai's form. To avoid detection by the Three-Eyed Tribe, Chen Mobai condensed this Void Illusion on the far side of the planet, opposite the Purple Firmament Palace. This area was already a wasteland; not only were there no living creatures, but even surviving plants were rarely seen. Looking around, all that remained was silence and the collapsed ruins of cities.

Chen Mobai sighed, guiding his illusionary avatar into the ruins of one of these cities.

The destructive traces of the Three-Eyed Tribe were clearly visible. As he walked around, he discovered remnants of the planet's previous civilization.

The planet was named Huanyuan Star, and its inhabitants called themselves the Star Tribe. They practiced Star Arts, cultivating by absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, and the power of all heavenly stars. The strongest beings throughout history could ascend to become Star Gods, hanging high above the planet as guardian stars, or even traversing the cosmos.

However, the Star Tribe was not without enemies.

On the far side of this planet, where the Purple Thunder Palace had now descended, there was a colossal black divine tree. The Star Tribe called it the Demonic Tree. It grew from the deepest parts of the earth, overshadowing the sky, and possessed a demonic method of devouring living beings to grow.

Successive Star Gods of the Star Tribe had always fought against the Demonic Tree.

After tens of thousands of years of effort and sacrifice, the Star Tribe finally suppressed the Demonic Tree, establishing the most powerful Star Formation around it to seal it off and isolate it from the world.

This way, as time passed, the Demonic Tree, without energy replenishment, would eventually wither and disappear. However, evil always finds a way, and the Three-Eyed Tribe descended upon this planet.

Although the Star Tribe brought forth all their reserves and resisted fiercely, they were utterly defeated under the Three-Eyed King's Eye of Annihilation. All Star Gods were struck down, turning into dust.

After eradicating the Star Tribe, the Three-Eyed Tribe gathered all the planet's resources and naturally discovered the Demonic Tree's location. Chen Mobai wondered why they had kept it. At this thought, he once again examined the planet's situation using his connection to the Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Qi.

Soon, the planet's lamenting will and the earth spirit's pain began to surge into Chen Mobai's mind. Amidst these groans, the most profound scenes of this world appeared one by one before Chen Mobai's eyes.

It turned out that the Demonic Tree was originally an asset of the Three-Eyed Tribe.

It was a spirit plant that coexisted with the Three-Eyed Tribe. Once mature, it would devour and refine all the essence of a planet's spiritual veins, then completely wither, transforming into a single fruit and millions of seeds.

The fruit would be collected by the attracted Three-Eyed Tribe, but the seeds would drift throughout the universe.

Once they found a suitable planet, they would take root, just like the Metal-Devouring Fire Ants on Dragon God Star, repeating the cycle.

Currently, all the planet's spiritual veins were being channeled by the Three-Eyed Tribe towards the Demonic Tree's roots, which continuously absorbed and refined them. If the Purple Thunder Palace hadn't arrived, all the planet's energy would have been drained in about a decade.

The fruit formed by the mature Demonic Tree was called the Fruit of Annihilation.

As the name suggested, it was a crystallization of the power of annihilation, most suitable for consumption by the Three-Eyed Tribe.

It was precisely because of such resources that the Three-Eyed Tribe was so powerful. When they reached their peak, they were equivalent to cultivators in the Spirit Transformation Realm.

The Three-Eyed King's ability to reach the Void Refinement stage was due to destroying one planet after another and consuming one Fruit of Annihilation after another.

If the tree rooted on a planet with abundant energy and vibrant life, the Fruit of Annihilation produced from it might even contain the true essence of destruction.

The planet's will had long been assimilated by the Star Gods, and after their demise, the memories they left behind were perceived by Chen Mobai through his connection to the Heavenly Spirit and Earthly Qi. These memories, which they wished to preserve even in death, were naturally the Star Gods' most profound and treasured legacies.

Chen Mobai opened his eyes, reached out into the void, and silver-glowing characters coalesced and arranged themselves before him. This was the fundamental cultivation technique, called the "True Star Path Treatise," created by integrating the wisdom of successive Star Gods of the Star Tribe.

Besides allowing one to cultivate to the Star God realm, it also contained the Star Gods' conjectures about higher realms. Since Star Gods were equivalent to the Spirit Transformation stage, anything beyond that would naturally be the Void Refinement stage.

The Great Dao recorded in the "True Star Path Treatise" was clearly the Stellar Dao! After reading it, Chen Mobai firmly committed the Star Tribe's profound technique to memory.

Although it wasn't of great use to Chen Mobai himself, if given to his Star-Guiding Reincarnated Self, it might allow him to complete the Great Dao he hadn't finished in his previous life. Furthermore, it would be extremely beneficial for Yun Hai, who was a Formation Dao Spirit Transformation cultivator specializing in the Universal River-Luo Star Array.

"I will help your legacy endure, and if possible, I will avenge you!"

Chen Mobai's Void Illusion murmured these words. At that moment, the entire Huanyuan Star's planetary will seemed to have nothing left to hold onto and began to completely dissipate.

Energy from all over the planet transformed into torrents, surging towards the far side, continuously being devoured and refined by the Demonic Tree. Chen Mobai watched this scene but did not intervene.

For him, this planet was beyond saving. All he could do was avenge the deceased Star Tribe.

Chen Mobai cast several void beacons, discreetly placing them throughout Huanyuan Star. He had learned this technique from the teleportation arrays of the Grand Void Ethereal Palace, primarily for the purpose of pinpointing locations.

The purpose of pinpointing the location was, naturally, to determine the planet's position in the cosmos.

Chen Mobai certainly had no intention of leading the Immortal Sect's forces to fight the Three-Eyed Tribe himself. After all, the Three-Eyed King was at the Void Refinement stage, and without Bai Guang's return, the Immortal Sect couldn't possibly win. However, he could sell this information to other entities in the universe.

Within the Purple Thunder Galaxy, planetary merchants were also a very promising profession.

However, to become a qualified planetary merchant, one needed an excellent reputation.

With the Purple Thunder Palace at his disposal, Chen Mobai was certain that wherever he landed next would be a demon-infested planet. So, what he needed to do now was build his reputation. This way, intelligence about demon-infested planets could fetch a good price in the future.

Since Huanyuan Star was already occupied by the Three-Eyed Tribe, Chen Mobai dared not leave too many void beacons. If discovered, it would surely attract the Three-Eyed King's attention, and no one knew the true power of a Void Refinement cultivator.

About three void beacons were hidden in three geographically distant locations on the planet, far from the Demonic Tree.

Although individual members of the Three-Eyed Tribe were powerful, their population was small, and they typically stayed only on the spiritual veins near the Demonic Tree. After confirming that all three beacons could be sensed and located, Chen Mobai dispersed his Void Illusion avatar.

Forty-nine days passed quickly.

All members of the Three-Eyed Tribe remaining on the planet had comprehended the Three Thousand Great Daos within the Purple Firmament Palace.

At night, the Three-Eyed King, following his past experience, was drawn into the Purple Firmament Palace. Upon opening his eyes, he saw Chen Mobai seated on the first-row futon, and his pupils involuntarily constricted.

Although Chen Mobai had previously claimed to be a disciple of the Purple Thunder Palace, it was only then that the Three-Eyed King truly believed him. "You all should know the rules, but I'll go over them anyway..." Chen Mobai saw that all the selected beings on the planet had gathered. He rose from his futon, approached the Green Lotus Stone Platform, and began to speak.

After some time, the beings within the Purple Thunder Palace gradually dispersed, leaving only Chen Mobai and the Three-Eyed King.

After comprehending a crucial aspect of the Great Dao of Annihilation, the Three-Eyed King felt as if his bloodline was about to transform and advance again. "Wait for me, your planet will be next soon."

After saying this to Chen Mobai, the Three-Eyed King's figure slowly began to dissipate.

"I hope so. I'd rather you die by my hand," Chen Mobai replied with a slight smile. The Three-Eyed King opened his mouth but had already vanished from the palace.

Chen Mobai stepped out of the palace threshold, watching the solidified Three Thousand Great Daos outside slowly dissipate. His gaze met that of the Three-Eyed King, who was waiting before the Demonic Tree. There was only murderous intent in both their eyes.

With a flicker of silver light, Chen Mobai had returned to the Immortal Sect.

This time, he was cultivating in seclusion on Mount Wangxian, as the World Gate was located there.

After stepping out of his secluded cultivation hall, Chen Mobai arrived before the World Gate at the mountain peak.

Familiar with the way, he entered the void within, where walls composed of various characters and symbols surrounded him. Chen Mobai began searching for the content he needed. Soon, he found a forum-like area in a corner.

This area was entirely dedicated to information related to demon-infested planets, hence its name, the "Demonic Market."

"My main body happens to be free at Xuangong and wishes to find some nearby demon-infested planets to earn Dao merits. Price negotiable."

"A demon-infested planet has been discovered near the Moyue Daoist Temple in the Central Galaxy. Planet's strength unknown. Half a Dao merit requested, all gains will be sold. Three demon-infested planets discovered around the White Palace Hongpu star system, fixed price of 5 Dao merits."

"Sincerely seeking a team to hunt an undeveloped and unpurified demon-infested planet. Its civilization and creatures have been thoroughly investigated, and all resources like the world membrane and planetary spiritual veins are intact. Interested parties please send a private message."

After briefly reviewing the first dozen pages of content, Chen Mobai gained a basic understanding of the industry. The planetary merchant sector was mainly divided into intelligence merchants and hunters.

However, often these roles were combined.

If an intelligence merchant knew a demon-infested planet was weak, they would certainly keep it for themselves rather than selling the information.

After all, for a planet, besides the Dao merits issued by the World Gate after purification and annihilation, other resources like the world membrane, planetary spiritual veins, rare treasures, etc., could also be sold for a good price. There were also two methods for selling demon-infested planet intelligence.

One method was a direct buyout at a fixed price. After the sale, whatever Dao merits the hunter gained belonged entirely to them.

The other method was profit-sharing. After the hunter secured the demon-infested planet, the final amount of Dao merits obtained would be divided with the intelligence merchant according to a pre-agreed ratio. This usually occurred when there was mutual distrust, or when the hunter was very poor and couldn't afford the Dao merits upfront.

Both methods had their pros and cons.

As a newcomer entering this market for the first time, Chen Mobai could only choose the second method of profit-sharing. This was because the Demonic Market had a "credit score" system.

Each completed transaction added credit points to an account, and only intelligence merchants with such points would be trusted by hunters.

After all, buyouts required an upfront payment of Dao merits. However, these Dao merits weren't directly deposited into the intelligence merchant's account; instead, they were held by the Demonic Market platform for a period. Typically, they were only released to the intelligence merchant's account after the hunter successfully captured and purified the demon-infested planet and it was recorded by the World Gate.

However, it was also possible that a demon-infested planet was too powerful, leading to the hunter's demise. In such a case, the Dao merits would be held by the platform for a hundred years. After a century, the platform would take half, and the remaining half would be released to the intelligence merchant's account.

Of course, the intelligence merchant could also choose to forgo these Dao merits and resell their intelligence. If they did so, all the Dao merits from the previous buyout transaction would go entirely to the platform.

Furthermore, if a demon-infested planet transaction resulted in a hunter's death, the intelligence merchant would also receive a "danger score."

Credit scores and danger scores were two separate systems and did not overlap. Moreover, once an application to become an intelligence merchant was approved, the scores would be publicly displayed for hunters to check. Naturally, intelligence merchants with higher danger scores would attract fewer hunters.

However, intelligence merchants with zero credit scores would also receive virtually no business from hunters.

Following the Demonic Market platform's instructions, Chen Mobai began the registration process to become an intelligence merchant.

All information was filled out. The account name directly used "White Crane Daoist Temple Survivor Mutual Aid Society," adopted from the World Gate, because changing it would cost 1 Dao merit, a sum Chen Mobai certainly wouldn't waste.

After successful registration, Chen Mobai was about to post, but something frustrating happened.

A window popped up on the platform, indicating that to post as an intelligence merchant on the Demonic Market, each post required a deposit of 1 Dao merit, which would be refunded upon successful completion of the transaction or cancellation of the post.

Chen Mobai clicked on the detailed explanation. The platform stated that this was because some individuals had previously exploited it to register numerous accounts and pollute the forum with various false messages. In other words, without some capital, one couldn't even start as an intelligence merchant.

Fortunately, his account still had 1 Dao merit left as a backup.

Chen Mobai was grateful for his foresight. Gritting his teeth, he took out his last Dao merit, edited some information about the Three-Eyed Tribe's current planet, and posted it on the platform.